Wounded Warriors Face Home-front Battle with VA

VA Fails Wounded Warriors
But he didn't expect a new battle when he returned home as a wounded warrior: a fight with the Department of Veterans Affairs. "Sometimes, you get lost in the system," he told CNN.

Wounded Warriors Face Home-front Battle with VA
Story Highlights
Ty Ziegel lost an arm, part of his skull when he was attacked in Iraq
VA initially rated his brain injury at 0%, meaning he got no compensation for it
Another vet: VA rejected his claim, saying his wounds were "not service connected"
Ziegel: "I want to make the VA system better"From Emily Probst
CNN WASHINGTON, Illinois (CNN) -- Ty Ziegel peers from beneath his Marine Corps baseball cap, his once boyish face burned beyond recognition by a suicide bomber's attack in Iraq just three days before Christmas 2004. He lost part of his skull in the blast and part of his brain was damaged. Half of his left arm was amputated and some of the fingers were blown off his right hand.Ziegel, a 25-year-old Marine sergeant, knew the dangers of war when he was deployed for his second tour in Iraq. But he didn't expect a new battle when he returned home as a wounded warrior: a fight with the Department of Veterans Affairs. "Sometimes, you get lost in the system," he told CNN. "I feel like a Social Security number. I don't feel like Tyler Ziegel." His story is one example of how medical advances in the battlefield have outpaced the home front. Many wounded veterans return home feeling that the VA system, specifically its 62-year-old disability ratings system, has failed them.
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Iraq War Vet Let Down by V.A. 2:40
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates Iraq War veteran Garrett Anderson's disability compensation.
• CNN.com - CNN: Special Investigations Unit
Source: CNN Added November 14, 2007

Wounded Marine fights the V.A.1:57
A family of warriors2:33
Iraq War Vet Let Down by V.A.2:40
The price of war2:12


These are wounds you can see with your eyes. After you watch the videos, think of how hard it is for the veterans with wounds you cannot see.